Generally, there are several ways to purchase and send gifts to friends and family, including purchasing the item directly in a store, purchasing the item online, reviewing a gift registry, identifying a gift and buying it, or sending cash to the family member or friend so that he/she can purchase his/her own gift. All of these methods involve the same process: a) identifying an occasion or reason to buy a gift, b) identifying what gift the person would like or is appropriate for the person, c) buying the gift, and in some cases, d) shipping the gift.
There are several established methods whereby someone with a birthday, wedding or another occasion in the future can let their friends and family know of his/her gift wishes, including a gift registry at a particular store, a note or a “wish list”. Each of these methods has limitations. For example, a gift registry is usually set up at one store, such as Macy's or Crate & Barrel. The registrant is limited to gifts at that store and also to prices at the store or online. Then, there is the issue of providing notice. Usually, the registrant sends out a card or E-mail to a list of family and friends notifying them of the gift registry. In many instances, these notices are sent out days or weeks in advance of the occasion and can get lost in a pile of paperwork or Outlook inbox. Notes and wish lists are even more prone to being lost or forgotten, not to mention that some friends and family may be inadvertently missed or not included on the mailing list.
A relatively new online service, www.wishpot.com, allows users to post desirable gifts across social media networks and allows users to “price shop” or compare prices for specific gifts online, similar to a service such as www.pricegrabber.com. While this service is advancing the gift-giving process online, it still does not address several key ideal embodiments, such as the ability to pay for part or all of a single gift or multiple gifts based on the priority of the giftee or user, the ability to process payments off of the retailer's website in order to simplify ordering and payment, and the ability to follow up with the users and gifters if either of them leave or terminate the service without purchasing at least part of an item.
To this end, it would be desirable to produce and utilize reliable methods and systems of identifying, providing notice of and purchasing at least one tangible gift in an online or virtual environment. Such ideal methods would include at least one of the following goals and/or ideals: a) the ability to post desirable gifts across social media networks, b) the ability to generate electronic mail to family and friends, c) the ability to “price shop” or compare prices online, d) the ability to pay for part or all of a single gift or multiple gifts, e) the ability for the recipient to get immediate delivery, allowing for gift givers to “pay the balance”, f) the ability to process payments off of the retailer's website in order to simplify ordering and payment, and g) the ability to follow up with both users and gifters if either leave or terminate the service without purchasing at least part of an item.